Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/680

 666 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

other body of instruction which is variously termed "Applied Sociology," "Social Economics," or "Social Technology."

The latter summarizes the results of experience and investigation with reference to activities which aim directly at social amelioration in relation to such matters as poverty, crime, immigration, race differences, and the specific dangers and opportunities characteristic of urban or rural com- munities.

The matter to be presented under "general" or "pure" sociology or sociology "proper" falls into at least five natural divisions.

First is general sociology in the narrowest sense, or what is some- times referred to as "philosophical" sociology. This treats of such subjects as the scope and method of sociology, the definition of sociological con- cepts (social reality, a society, institution, custom, etc.) the correlation of these concepts with each other and with others defined by the special social sciences, the classification of all social realities, the kinds of causal conditions by which they are affected, the relation between society and the individual, the doctrines of sociological ethics, etc. The teachings of this division of sociology are partly preliminary to the teachings of the other divisions of pure sociology, and partly based upon them.

Second is psychologic sociology, which treats of the relations between activities (beliefs, desires, etc.) and the other activities, similar or dissimi- lar, by which they are environed ; that is, the relations between the activities of an individual and the activities of his associates by which his own are evoked or modified, and so the building-up of the network of streaming activities possible only to individuals who are in association.

Third is comparative and genetic sociology, represented by such work as has been done by Letourneau, Lippert, Bastian, Westermarck, Sumner, and Thomas. This aims to lay a broad foundation of fact for our knowledge of the origin and succession of species of prevalent social activities and the evolution of the world of social reality.

The fourth division might be called statistical sociology, but that the word "statistical" refers to a method which may be employed in other divisions of sociology although it finds its most constant application here. This fourth division of sociology proper may be called biologic sociology. It deals with the problems of population, the effects upon social activities pro- duced by racial and temperamental traits, and by physical contrasts between manufacturing and agricultural populations of similar stock, and by the physical consequences of prevalent vices, unsanitary housing, and the like.

The fifth division is geographic sociology, the most neglected of all, which studies the causal significance of natural physical environments in determining social activities.

With reference to the manner of teaching Sociology the only point which I will raise pertains to the order of presentation.

I think that most of us who are devoted to the teaching of sociology